1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lipstick container of the propel-repel type. More specifically, this invention relates to a lipstick container in which the drive mechanism is located entirely in the base beneath the pomade and special means are provided for giving the drive a silky "feel".
2. Description of Related Art including Information Disclosed under .sctn..sctn.1.97 to 1.99
The prior art is loaded with patents disclosing details of propel-repel lipstick containers. A number of these references specifically deal with the category of propel-repel lipstick containers in which the drive screw mechanism is located entirely in the base of the lipstick making possible a more slender lipstick package because the upper portion of the container need be only slightly larger than the pomade itself: the pomade cup is not surrounded by the usual cam and slotted sleeve which ordinarily increase the diameter of lipstick containers.
The Applicant is aware of the following patents, all of which deal with propel-repel lipsticks in which the drive, located in the base of the container, comprises telescoping screw elements entirely in the base as stated:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,195 which issued Mar. 27, 1951 to C. W. Mellette; PA0 German application DE 3316-573 on an invention by Peter Keller, published on Nov. 8, 1984; PA0 UK patent application 2,197,295 published May 18, 1988 on an invention by Ottavio Terruzzi; and PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,556 which issued Sep. 13, 1988 on an invention by Walter Ackermann and David Ramonas.
The use of the telescoping double screw arrangement as disclosed in the above patents, while meritorious, does have one perceptible defect: the user, as she propels the pomade up or down within the container, "feels" a change in torque as the drive shifts from driving the wider outer screw to driving the narrower inner screw, and vice versa. This "shift" gives a perceptible unevenness to the rotation of the lipstick drive and is undesirable in a quality lipstick.
The present invention is concerned with means to impose a friction on the rotation of the drive mechanism so that the above-described unevenness is no longer perceptible but is masked by the heavier torque required to overcome the friction means.